Sacred 2 - Interview @ GameSpy

Ascaron's Hans-Arlo Wegner has been interviewed at GameSpy about Sacred 2:

GameSpy: One of the most interesting aspects of the game appears to be the level of character and class customization. In the first game, gender and abilities were set at character selection. Can you tell us about this and why you made the change?

Wegner: Sacred 2 is set within a very deep world. All of our characters have to be integrated into the story of Ancaria and have their own background story and motivation. Still, we believe players identify with personally developed characters similar to those in paper and pencil RPGs. In those games you are not somebody who is capable of doing everything, but you choose your character at the beginning and you outfit this character with specific abilities you want to use.

Each character has three aspects that represent three unique types of gameplay. The player is able to concentrate on one aspect, or combine two or even all three. With the combinations, new unique playing styles can be developed. Every single combat art can be modified individually by the player. This will change the attributes of combat so that the player is able to customize and optimize his or her personal playing style.